Falling in love with the weights...again
As we approach to the gym for the first time, we fall in love. We lift those barbells and dumbells with great motivation, with thoughs of a future muscled body. The weights give back with fast gains that raise up our motivation even higher.
Every week we are able to add some pounds to the bar, or maybe get two more repetitions. All is going fine and we feel that in some months or maybe a year time we will look like Arnold or Dorian Yates. Then, all of a sudden, progress stops and we are not able to surpass the liftings on the last session. We think it is perhaps a coincidence that will be solved next time we hit the weights.
But then the next session comes, we manage to scratch for one more rep, but in the subsequent sessions progress stops again or even goes back. What is happening here?. Our first love gets cold, as it happens in some marriages and we keep on on a boring routine, going to the gym as if it is was our duty, zero motivation and for the shake of not losing our first gains.
It hasn´t to be this way. You can keep that fire in your heart burning breaking the routine!. Here are some ideas.
Go for your weak points first
Get to the mirror and take a look at yourself with a critical eye. Check the poundages you are lifting. Is there any body part that you are lacking development in? Identify your weak points and... go for them!. Strengthening them is key for getting strong.
If you have never based your routine on compound exercises, go try them. If, on the other hand, you are strong and lift a lot on the military press but your shoulders are not as wide as they should be, try some lateral raises though being an isolation exercise it will do his work.
A very important point is gripping strength. A strong grip implies your curls, pull ups, rows etc. will be stronger also. If you feel your hands opening on one of these exercise, wrist straps would be a fast solution, but it is far better to train your grip strength and get it to the next level.
Commit yourself to strengthen those weak points. When you have a muscle group that hasn't received your attention for a while, it will respond easily to training stimulus. Seeing them grow will further motivate yourself and also brings gains to those spots you are already strong at.
Wave the load
If you have been following the same repetition/weight scheme day after day (3 sets of 10, 4 sets of 8 , 5 sets of 5) and you have been stalled for quite a time with the same weight...turn it around !. Make agressive leaps on the weight you are moving for a time, up and down. This has all the potential to break boredom, motivate you, and get back some strength and muscle gains for a change.
For example, let's suppose you have been bench pressing for two months using a 4x8 with 180 pounds schedule. You are stuck there, so you keep your total reps more or less constant (30-35 reps total) and wave the load between 70% and 110% of the actual weight you are moving. Your next sessions may look like this:
Session 1: 4x8 with 130 lb
Session 2: 8x4 with 190 lb
Session 3: 5x7 with 170 lb
Session 4: 3x10 with 140 lb
Session 5: 7x5 with 185 lb
Session 6: 4x8 with 145 lb
Session 7: 8x4 with 97 lb
Session 8: 5x7 with 85 lb
Session 9: .....
After this, go back to lifting for 4x8. Surely you will be able to lift more.
New Techniques
Pavel Tsautsoline, the reknowned strength coach, affirms "Strength is a skill" and as any other skill, it can be improved by frequent and concentrated practice. Many times we get the weights with the only purpose to move them around, but there is much more than that.
Concentrate, tense your whole body, not just the muscle you are working. Strive to contract your muscles harder. Focus on moving the load with all the energy in your body. There are some high tension techniques to try (in case you are not using them already).
Grip the barbell or dumbell hard: There is some study about this demonstrating that gripping the barbell hard strength may boost up to 10%.
Tense your glutes hard: As if you were trying to pinch a coin between them. It helps a lot on curls, rows, deadlifts and presses. Try it.
Push yourself away from the weight: Rather than just pushing the weight away from you, concentrate on pushing yourself away from the weight. On an overhead press, imagine you want to sink your feet on the ground. On a bench press concentrate on pressing your back against the bench. This helps in building more tension, which is the principal ingredient for muscular strength.
Try new exercises
This is one of the obvious options to break routine. Changing the machines or exercises you are using can reactivate your gains. I recommend you try this not so conventional exercises, they are very effective and there aren´t many to use them:
One arm push ups
Swings (with kettlebells or also with a dumbell)
Turkish get ups
* Note: It looks easy, but it isn´t. Begin with a light dumbell if you try it.
Dragon Flags
* Note: This is a challenge in itself. To master it, you can begin using reverse crunches.
Towel pull ups
Wrap up
Nothing kills more a relationship than routine. Break it to reactivate your love with the weights. However, try to keep some consistency. Changing your routine every week will result in your body not knowing what to adapt to.
Every week we are able to add some pounds to the bar, or maybe get two more repetitions. All is going fine and we feel that in some months or maybe a year time we will look like Arnold or Dorian Yates. Then, all of a sudden, progress stops and we are not able to surpass the liftings on the last session. We think it is perhaps a coincidence that will be solved next time we hit the weights.
But then the next session comes, we manage to scratch for one more rep, but in the subsequent sessions progress stops again or even goes back. What is happening here?. Our first love gets cold, as it happens in some marriages and we keep on on a boring routine, going to the gym as if it is was our duty, zero motivation and for the shake of not losing our first gains.It hasn´t to be this way. You can keep that fire in your heart burning breaking the routine!. Here are some ideas.
Go for your weak points first
Get to the mirror and take a look at yourself with a critical eye. Check the poundages you are lifting. Is there any body part that you are lacking development in? Identify your weak points and... go for them!. Strengthening them is key for getting strong.
If you have never based your routine on compound exercises, go try them. If, on the other hand, you are strong and lift a lot on the military press but your shoulders are not as wide as they should be, try some lateral raises though being an isolation exercise it will do his work.
A very important point is gripping strength. A strong grip implies your curls, pull ups, rows etc. will be stronger also. If you feel your hands opening on one of these exercise, wrist straps would be a fast solution, but it is far better to train your grip strength and get it to the next level.Commit yourself to strengthen those weak points. When you have a muscle group that hasn't received your attention for a while, it will respond easily to training stimulus. Seeing them grow will further motivate yourself and also brings gains to those spots you are already strong at.
Wave the load
If you have been following the same repetition/weight scheme day after day (3 sets of 10, 4 sets of 8 , 5 sets of 5) and you have been stalled for quite a time with the same weight...turn it around !. Make agressive leaps on the weight you are moving for a time, up and down. This has all the potential to break boredom, motivate you, and get back some strength and muscle gains for a change.
For example, let's suppose you have been bench pressing for two months using a 4x8 with 180 pounds schedule. You are stuck there, so you keep your total reps more or less constant (30-35 reps total) and wave the load between 70% and 110% of the actual weight you are moving. Your next sessions may look like this:
Session 1: 4x8 with 130 lb
Session 2: 8x4 with 190 lb
Session 3: 5x7 with 170 lb
Session 4: 3x10 with 140 lb
Session 5: 7x5 with 185 lb
Session 6: 4x8 with 145 lb
Session 7: 8x4 with 97 lb
Session 8: 5x7 with 85 lb
Session 9: .....
After this, go back to lifting for 4x8. Surely you will be able to lift more.
New Techniques
Pavel Tsautsoline, the reknowned strength coach, affirms "Strength is a skill" and as any other skill, it can be improved by frequent and concentrated practice. Many times we get the weights with the only purpose to move them around, but there is much more than that.
Concentrate, tense your whole body, not just the muscle you are working. Strive to contract your muscles harder. Focus on moving the load with all the energy in your body. There are some high tension techniques to try (in case you are not using them already).
Grip the barbell or dumbell hard: There is some study about this demonstrating that gripping the barbell hard strength may boost up to 10%.
Tense your glutes hard: As if you were trying to pinch a coin between them. It helps a lot on curls, rows, deadlifts and presses. Try it.
Push yourself away from the weight: Rather than just pushing the weight away from you, concentrate on pushing yourself away from the weight. On an overhead press, imagine you want to sink your feet on the ground. On a bench press concentrate on pressing your back against the bench. This helps in building more tension, which is the principal ingredient for muscular strength.
Try new exercises
This is one of the obvious options to break routine. Changing the machines or exercises you are using can reactivate your gains. I recommend you try this not so conventional exercises, they are very effective and there aren´t many to use them:
One arm push ups
Swings (with kettlebells or also with a dumbell)
Turkish get ups
* Note: It looks easy, but it isn´t. Begin with a light dumbell if you try it.
Dragon Flags
* Note: This is a challenge in itself. To master it, you can begin using reverse crunches.
Towel pull ups
Wrap up
Nothing kills more a relationship than routine. Break it to reactivate your love with the weights. However, try to keep some consistency. Changing your routine every week will result in your body not knowing what to adapt to.
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